Hunters eye holiday chances

Thursday

Dec 17, 2015 at 11:20 AM

The Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season will give deer gun hunters another opportunity to harvest one white-tailed doe in Oklahoma this winter. This hunting season will run from Dec. 18-27 in specified open areas.

The Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season will give deer gun hunters another opportunity to harvest one white-tailed doe in Oklahoma this winter. This hunting season will run from Dec. 18-27 in specified open areas.

Hunters lucky enough to harvest an antlerless whitetail during those 10 days are getting an early Christmas gift of sorts, as that deer is considered a bonus deer and does not count against a hunter’s combined season limit for deer.

The holiday season allows each hunter to harvest one white-tailed doe only; the harvest of any mule deer doe is not allowed.

Resident hunters planning to participate in the Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season must have an appropriate hunting license and a Holiday Antlerless Deer License, unless exempt. Nonresident hunters must have a Nonresident Deer Gun License. Unfilled licenses from the previous Youth Deer Gun, Deer Muzzleloader or Deer Gun

Does harvested during the Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season will not count toward a hunter’s season limit. (wildlifedepartment.com)

seasons are not valid for the Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season.

The Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season will be open in eight of the state’s 10 Antlerless Deer Zones. Closed areas include the Oklahoma Panhandle west of U.S. 83, and most of southeastern Oklahoma. Also, many wildlife management areas are closed to Holiday Antlerless Deer Gun Season. For open areas, consult the public hunting area listings and the zone map on page 20 of the current "Oklahoma Hunting" regulations guide.

Also, a Holiday Antlerless Elk Gun Season will be held on private lands in all elk zones except the Special Southwest Zone. This season will be Dec. 18-27 only in zones where harvest quotas have not yet been met. Hunters who plan to pursue antlerless elk from Dec. 18-27 may use any unfilled elk license from the previous elk firearms seasons or buy a resident or nonresident elk license. Elk taken during this holiday season will count toward the hunter’s combined season limit, so any hunter who already has harvested a combined season limit is not eligible to participate in the holiday season. And zone quotas remain in effect, so any hunter planning to pursue elk must first check the status of the elk harvest quota at wildlifedepartment.com before going afield.

Season dates vary in the Special Southwest Zone (all private lands in Caddo, Comanche and Kiowa counties) for Elk Gun (Dec. 17-20) and Additional Antlerless Elk (Jan. 1-31, 2016) hunting seasons. For details, see the current "Oklahoma Hunting" regulations guide online at wildlifedepartment.com or in print where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

In addition, Deer Archery and Elk Archery seasons remain open until Jan. 15.

All hunters are reminded that wearing hunter orange clothing is required during any open deer, elk, bear or antelope firearms season. Only hunters pursuing waterfowl, crane or crow, or while hunting furbearing animals at night, are exempt from hunter orange requirements. Hunters also are required to check-in all harvested elk and deer using the online E-Check system within 24 hours of leaving the hunt area.

Hunting licenses, deer licenses and elk licenses are sold by vendors statewide or online on the online license desk at wildlifedepartment.com. For additional regulations and information, see the current "Oklahoma Hunting" regulations guide online at wildlifedepartment.com or in print where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

Warriors attack litter

The Oklahoma River Warriors group will get to work at 9 a.m. Saturday on the first of what organizers hope will grow into a concerted statewide effort to clean up streams, rivers and lake access points across Oklahoma.

The group will debut this campaign near downtown Tulsa at a local access point and popular fishing spot on the Arkansas River.

Litter is a major problem in all areas of Oklahoma. One only has to look around a little bit to see that. Plastic bottles and foam cups litter gutters up and down suburban streets and rural roads and ditches across Oklahoma. Plastic bags can be seen blowing in the wind and snagged in trees and fences everywhere. On the banks of a stream, river or lake, these types of things gather. Along waterways, they are particularly noticeable because they float and they are persistent.

The only way to keep these things from a continued migration down the river is to pick them up.

"People will surely have a laugh or two when they hear that we are trying to clean up the Arkansas River," said Scott Hood, president of Oklahoma River Warriors Inc. "For me, it’s just this simple: To do anything you simply have to start. So why not start with something big and with something people will think it’s impossible to do? A little bit here and a little bit there, and at some point in time perhaps even this job can get done.

"To move a mountain, you start with one rock. To clean up this river and all the others in Oklahoma, it starts with one plastic bottle."

The goal of the Oklahoma River Warriors is to spread across Oklahoma by finding local organizations and interested groups and for those groups to conduct cleanups on their own local streams and rivers. ORW wants to establish an individual coordinator for a stream, river or local lake access point and have that individual’s group maintain the cleanliness of their place with annual or biannual cleanup efforts.

The City of Tulsa is working on just such a plan within the city limits with an "Adopt A Stream" program. Adopt A Stream organizer Jacob Hagen said, "There’s no reason the two programs couldn’t be great partners. The Oklahoma River Warriors is designed as a statewide program, and the City of Tulsa is certainly in Oklahoma, and we want to support this effort."

People interested in helping with the Dec. 19 cleanup effort should plan to report to the parking lot near the 71st Street and Riverside volleyball courts at 8:30 a.m. The cleanup will be from 9 a.m. until noon. The effort will focus on litter removal from the 71st Street Bridge southward to the first drainpipe off of Riverside Drive (about 1/4 of a mile).

All participants must sign a waiver before participating and should check-in at a tent that will be onsite. Each will be offered a cleanup bag or two and will be loaned a pair of trash-pickers while a limited supply lasts. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and gloves, and be prepared for the day’s weather.

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Comment Period Open for Rule Change Proposals

Each year, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation proposes changes in Title 800, the administrative rules that govern hunting, fishing and Wildlife Department operations. The public comment period is now open for this year’s proposed rule changes.

Many proposed changes for 2016 are simple housekeeping matters, while some are more substantial. Highlights of this year’s rule changes include: